00:00:13In modern music, the vocal tends to be
the most important thing
except for some instrumental records,
but that's a different story.

00:00:20If you think about it, very few people
buy the record for the triangle part
which is sad for triangle players,
but really nice for singers.

00:00:27The beauty of the whole thing
is that you already know
what your vocal should sound like
because you are already listening
to people talk around you all day long.

00:00:36The difficult part is that everybody knows
what your vocal should sound like
because everybody is listening to
other people talk all day long, and so...

00:00:43any artifact introduced by the recording
process, by the microphone
by the placement, by the EQ'ing,
will bother the listener.

00:00:50So let's look at ways
to go around that problem!
Here's a good way to think about it:
First, fix everything that's
obviously wrong
based on your reference
of what it should sound like
and also, mistakes: bleed,
by the microphone, by the preamp proximity.

00:01:04Then, once you have that, enhance it
to match the track or the style.

00:01:08I'm gonna look at 3 different vocals
and see if they need fixing.

00:01:14This is a Will Knox vocal.
It's recorded live
with the whole band, he's playing guitar
and singing at the same time.

00:01:20We had to put the microphone
close to his mouth for separation
that gives us proximity effect,
probably a little too fat.

00:01:27I'm gonna play it. Listen carefuly.

00:01:30Do you like how close it feels?
Is it a little wooly?
Does it lack some high end?
Does the guitar bother you? Check it out!
So we got pretty good separation,
but it's pretty wooly and round.

00:02:15Now, if you listen to it in the track,
you see a real problem.

00:02:26Sounds like cotton, right?
To fix stuff, it's probably best to use
a clean EQ without too much character
that just is precise, transparent,
and doesn't stand in the way
so you can focus on the problem,
not the sound of the EQ.

00:02:39I use the Oxford here. First I'm going
to high pass the bottom
for foot stomps and whatever bleeds
from the bass drum, or anything else...

00:02:47as far as choosing filter curves.
How do you think about that? 6, 12, 24, 36?
Here's how I think about it: I like
gentle curves, because they're... gentle!
I tend to use 12dB/octave, it's a good
compromise between getting rid of the stuff
without being Attila on my track.
And it sounds like this...

00:03:11When I bypass the EQ on and off
with a filter that low, it doesn't
touch the bottom of the vocal.

00:03:17That's a good thing, that gives me room
to go up a little higher
until I start touching the bottom
of the vocal, then I'll back off a little.

00:03:24Check it out.

00:03:32I'm taking a little bit of the bottom
of the vocal there.

00:03:35I like that, it's kind of transparent,
it doesn't sound EQ to me.

00:03:45I'm content with that.

00:03:46I hear a resonance
on that "Round and round..."
I don't like that sound
because it kinda sticks out
and with the track, it's too much.
Let me play it for you...

00:03:57Right? It's wooly. I'll play it again.

00:04:04It feels like the vocal is kind of like
disconnected from the track.

00:04:07If I remove that
"Round and round" thing resonance there
maybe the vocal will sit better in the track.
Check it out! I'm gonna look for it...

00:11:47As a reminder, let's listen to it
in the track, without the EQ.

00:12:00It's rubbing. It's not drastic,
but it's rubbing.

00:12:04Again, with the EQ.

00:12:16That works better for me.

00:12:18It's not night and day, but it should not be!
We're just trying to make things balanced.

00:12:22This EQ on this vocal allows them
to be on the same planet
which is always a good start for a mix.

00:12:29I'd like to give you some basic idea
of the frequency range.

00:12:33There's no real set in stone, because
everything changes with keys, vocalists
and different rooms, but some basic stuff
tend to come back all the time.

00:12:43Between 20Hz and 100Hz, you probably
will never have much there
except if you're dealing with Barry White,
but he's dead, so you probably won't.

00:12:51So it's safe to high-pass that.

00:12:53We've briefly discussed the choice
of filter curves earlier in this video.

00:12:57Start at 12.

00:12:58But if you have an air conditioner and
it's fairly higher because it's a big model
and it's right there under where the vocal
is starting, feel free to use 36dB/octave
preferably on a good EQ, so you don't
make a mess, and get rid of it.

00:13:10You always have to listen to what you're doing,
don't just blindly high-pass it.

00:13:14But there is pretty much the safe zone
to get rid of garbage.

00:13:17100Hz is where you have to start
paying attention.

00:13:21On male vocalists, in small rooms,
you may find some resonances.

00:13:25Or, a very deeply miked female vocal
with lots of room sound
might have some resonance down there.
So you wanna be careful.

00:13:32If something in your vocal is fighting
with the bottom of your guitar
or the top of your bass, look in that area,
and gently notch it out with an EQ.

00:13:41Between 180 and 240, it tends to be hell
for close-miked singers
it sounds like cardboard, it sounds woofy,
it's really annoying.

00:13:49I usually go there first,
especially for male vocalists.

00:13:52That same tone tends to translate
towards the 300's for female vocalists.

00:13:56Well, they're higher pitched, right?
So if your vocal feels a little muffled,
wooly or cottony
instead of reaching for the high end first,
actually go down there, look there
and notch that out a little bit,
and see how that feels.

00:14:09Then, in the 500 area, that's where
the nose sits for a lot of people.

00:14:13If your singer has a cold, if you
notch out 500, you might be happier.

00:14:17Be gentle though... 1 or 2dBs,
fairly wide Q will do the trick.

00:14:22This area shows blatantly
when it's being dealt with.

00:14:26The 600 to 1600 is that medium range
that tends to be fine in most recordings.

00:14:36it becomes interesting again between
1600 and 2200-2300
If your vocal is a little dull,
lacks presence...

00:14:44you know when the vocal really kind of
jumps at you, if you don't get that
try boosting a little bit around 2k.

00:14:50Raising a couple dBs at 2k,
just a couple dBs, can do magic
in helping to pull a vocal in front of
a very busy mix. Don't abuse it though.

00:14:59Now, is it exactly 2k?
No. You have to look around for the key
of your song and the resonance of your singer.

00:15:06But that's the range.
I'd say 1800 to 2200.

00:15:11The 2200-3500 area is a tough area because
that's where a lot of the digital sound is.

00:15:17All that screechy stuff that makes you squint
your eyes when you listen to the vocal...

00:15:21...sits there, because a lot of converters
have problems there
for very complicated reasons
that we'll explain elsewhere.

00:15:28You have to watch your 25 to 35.

00:15:31If you're listening to your vocal and
everything's fine, and some notches...

00:15:36screech at you, like really sharp,
really fast
and hurt your eyes, or hurt your teeth
when you listen to them...

00:15:42that usually lives 2500 to 3500.

00:15:45Unfortunately, it's a very difficult
problem to deal with, because...

00:15:49it's not just blatantly too much 3.5k.

00:15:53It's just: in those particular moments
it's too much 3.5k.

00:15:56The solution is either to automate an EQ
just on those notes that bother you
or use a dynamic EQ
like the Sonnox Supresser
or, use a side-chain on a compressor,
which we'll show you in a different video.

00:16:09But there, 2500 to 3500,
even up to 4k
that's where the nosebleed area is.

00:16:15Above that, there's that really
interesting spot around 5k.

00:16:205k is the "hhaaa" thing.

00:16:22I find that when most vocalists
are recorded too close.

00:16:26All that nice resonance in the top
of the head is gone
because the microphone is overwhelmed
with all the bottom from the proximity effect.

00:16:33Hightening 5k-ish, it could be 5.5,
it could be 4.8, depending on the singer
that, there, is really nice to open up
the top of a vocal.

00:16:43Above there, 6-7-8k, is a dangerous area,
because the s's live there.

00:16:49Most of the time, unless you have
a blatant problem, it's better left alone.

00:16:53If you do have a lot of s's up there
and it's a problem
it's very unlikely you'll be able
to fix it with an EQ...

00:16:59unless you're willing to automate the EQ,
s by s
or even automate the level of the s's,
one by one
as we show you in the De-esser video.

00:17:08That's why they make De-essers.
Look at the De-esser video
make your selection, at any time.

00:17:34brightness, it's more like
space above your head
as if the vocal went all the way up
to the sky, which is a nice sound.

00:17:41If it's properly recorded, it's fun
to play up there.

00:17:44As always, be gentle...
don't abuse the force!
If you find yourself whishing 10dBs
at 14k shelf, just to make a vocal listenable
you're either screwing up elsewhere,
or in dire need of re-recording that vocal.

00:17:58It happens to the best of us...

00:18:00That's one way to think about
the frequency range
based on function and feelings
which are both crucial in my opinion,
if you're making music.

Fab Dupont is a Grammy winning NYC based record producer, mixing/mastering engineer and co-founder of pureMix.net.

Fab has been playing, writing, producing and mixing music both live and in studios all over the world. He's worked in cities like Paris, Boston, Brussels, Stockholm, London and New York just to name a few.

He has his own studio called FLUX Studios in the East Village of New York City.

Fab has been nominated for Grammys 6 times, including two Latin Grammys and has received many other accolades around the world, including Victoires de la Musique, South African Music awards, Pan African Music Awards and US independent music awards.

Thanks for the lesson! I am a noob to this music tech world. I currently hold a monthly subscription to logic, so i only have access to their stock plugins. By looking at the exercise file i see that you used some custom plugins. Upon researching the web i came across a plethora of companies delightfully selling their goodies as the best goodie around...
what do you recommend for my case? waves has a lot of bundles as does the air company. they all seem like delightful goodies, but which goodie is good for noobish needs?

kuzeyyildirim

2018 Feb 18

Great tips!

ashley.manners

2018 Jan 10

Very well explained.
Would be great to have a downloadable PDF of that Vocal Frequency Chart here.

BeBopALuba

2018 Jan 04

What´s about the idea using this eq knowledge for other Instruments ?

bowza1000

2017 Jun 22

RE: "Children"
I don't mind it. We're the students, right? I can see the fun in it.

galaxybeats

2017 Apr 05

"Good morning children" really? I'm not 10 years old.

higoron@hotmail.com

2017 Mar 16

muito bom. obrigado

soundspace2001

2016 Dec 08

What a great video - love the approach with the combination of FIXING then ENHANCING EQ! Amazing what I am learning thanks to such Tutorials!

rawcorex

2016 Aug 13

i love you haha... great video!

rickdrumss

2016 Jul 27

really informative!!

Daven

2016 Jul 10

Would if be best to compress before EQing?

eliran.elgozi

2016 Jul 05

Great Explanation!!Thank you !
is it possible to add the eq chart to the downloadable files?

@TheHunter: It's a transient thing. Over the years the converters have gotten really great at being transparent and holding nothing back. the transients @ 3K ish tend to be fast and in your face. It's an issue because most gear these days is as fast as the converters. It's the stuff that tape and transformers used to shave off. Without that layer of goo things get harsh and bunched up and hurt your eyes. I'm not aware of any literature on that. It's obvious when you turn modern mixes up. we just got used to feeling pain in our eyes when listening to loud music. It does not have to be that way.

TheHunter

2015 Feb 18

Hello Fab !
Excellent video as always ! In one night just watching just a few of these
premium videos, I feel my subscription has paid for itself in knowledge.
You mentioned briefly in this video about "digital noise" in the
2.5k to 3.5k range, and that a lot of converters have issues in this
area. Do you have any other videos or articles you can point me
to for further discussion on that specifically?
Thank you !!

This tutorial finally makes me understand. Now I know what to look for and why. A breakthrough for me. After watching, and making notes I took two songs and made the vocals better than ever. I'm not affiliated. Thanks.

robbiea7x

2013 Oct 09

This is absolutely the best EQ video I have seen, tremendous

DurhamDesi

2013 Oct 04

Excellent tutorial on EQing Vocals. Thank you for explaining it so well.

Becky Jo Benson

2013 Aug 19

FAB, this is the 5th time that I have watched this video in the last 18 months. Why do I watch it again? Because the first time I took a lot of notes on all the dbs and where I thought I should watch for the problems, then I listened to other recordings and tried to match those settings (waste of time because every room and singer and instrument and song is different). Bottom line, we must listen with our eyes closed so we can focus on the sound, but also the FEELING of what style and mood is being promoted. Wonderful 'how to' make it brighter yet meld into the track. THANK YOU, FAB!!

leapjoe

2013 Jul 31

Wow, amazing video on eq-ing vocals! Awesome! Thanks Fab!

BORNintoMUSIC

2013 May 04

facebook.com/onesunonemoon (sorry, hopefully this is not going overboard)

BORNintoMUSIC

2013 May 04

BTW - I hope one day my band can be engineered/produced/mixed by you :)

BORNintoMUSIC

2013 May 04

Fab, thank you for your time and effort into this video, it's helped me a lot! Can I recommend you include your own "fixed" track with each vocal as well? I'd like to compare my plugins against yours, and see what I can come up with, on budget EQ's. Thanks!

ravian

2013 Apr 23

The best eq vid i have ever seen...
Period.

spiritlearning

2013 Mar 07

i went from giving up 100 times trying to mix for a whole year..running to guitar center and other stores waisting money buyin equibment.watching and studying over 200 youtube videos that never teach you real mixing or hearing....i gave up after memorizing each page on the book "mixing secrets..i gave up after 100 vocal mic placement tricks and 200 questions i analyzed everyday overwhelmed and lost ...the part that most stuns me is i started this commitment because i admired rap and poetryso i bought alot of mics and plugins becoming depressed badlybut can someone tell me y i love mixing now?

spiritlearning

2013 Mar 07

FAB ..YOUR SICK !........to all artist listen carefully ,..this is what youve been looking for..
fab teaches you how to listen to frequencies in a vocal (resonances) and how to care for them(poking out=cut ) ..after you find those target chunks..you begin to hear the vocal become stable (vibeful) and controlled in a musical way...(all this time we thought the poking out freq were ok and hard to hear lmao....i cant believe he than teaches how to listen to your feelings which somehow does the mixing for you in a magical way (while your controlling the vocal before compression !) godblessufab!

mysticmuse@hush.com

2012 Oct 06

uh yeah I was hoping I'd get a lesson on EQ'ing with 500 series EQ processors like my Neve 1073 EQ and STEP EQ. the frequencies on a plugin are totally different than on an analog processor I just don't know how I can use this info in a beneficial way as I always use only outboard gear and very little plugins.
just wanted to chime in thanks.

Afrindian

2012 Sep 26

This teaching is excellent. It can make the difference between someone choosing you to mix and someone electing not to use your mix. Thanx for caring about the art and sharing at such a reasonable fee.

rustet

2012 Sep 24

Great video! Really drives home that a little goes a long way.
@Il Pianista: I don't have that particular plugin, but I'm guessing that the top-left bypass switch is for the extra midrange eq only, while the one he uses bypasses the entire plugin. There's also a bypass switch for the 'classic' pultec section.

Il Pianista

2012 Sep 04

Not to be annoying.. :) but, are you sure you are really bypassing the mid-range on the pultec? Isn't the "on-off" button in the top left side of the plugin?

rubentirado

2012 Aug 21

Thank you Mr. Fab..... Great

darrendrums

2012 Jun 04

Fantastic, straight talking tutorial again:-) Would love to see one's on drums, acoustic bass , brass etc, especially with the common problem area's of EQ for each instrument?!
Best
Darren

jam92189

2012 May 22

wow this helped alot many thanks

rayhill

2012 May 21

FAB~!!!!! YOUR LIKE JEDI MASTER!!!!!
MASTER FAB~~

bun102

2012 Mar 06

Hey Fab,Thanks to you Bro. I just bought your Vocal EQ video,and it totally improved my understanding of vocal. I just mixed the best vocal of my life!!! lol Thnx man. Good Stuff

carter1210

2012 Feb 26

This is great, I knew a lot of it already, but wasn't sure on some parts. Essential info that will be with you for life, I'm glad I invested in this video.

android

2012 Feb 13

Very good video!

WeMakeRecords.ca

2012 Feb 06

I rally enjoyed this tutorial. This video reminded me how important it is to get the sound right (correct) at the source. Therefore, if I find myself needing to cut more than 3db to fix, or boost more than 1.5 db to enhance...I have most likely chosen the wrong mic or mic pre for the job. Thanks FAB!

bigtree

2012 Jan 22

Watched the whole thing, very well done, highly recommended!

dcherouny

2012 Jan 20

Fab you get great clarity with the vocals without it sounding harsh! Amazing

TaskUno

2012 Jan 17

Wow. Lots of little things in here that are often overlooked and yet really important. The chart was really helpful too! I'm loving this site man and more so how much my stuff is sounding better because of it. Keep em' coming!

Dave Zerio

2012 Jan 17

The frequency chart in this video is EXTREMELY useful! Screenshot - Print - Memorize. Everyone needs to see/hear this video!

robrob

2012 Jan 17

Magic. Just magic.

tom12333

2012 Jan 17

Fab could You tell me: why do You compensate loss of dbs with fader not using gain in eq?

johnboy10

2012 Jan 02

Lets have it then :-)

bun102

2011 Dec 31

i check here everyday now just to see if its out already. Cant wait Fab